Chapter 1

Riley

"Where is Ethan?" Liam, Ethan's older brother, called back to us from the grill.

"No clue." I stood up and smiled, feeling like everything was right with the world for the moment. Ethan and I were going to spend the night in each other's arms. What that meant for the future was still fuzzy, but irrelevant. I needed him like a freezing man needs a small fire, and something told me that he needed me just as well. "You need something?"

"Lots of things, but I'd get in trouble for listing them in front of you. My brother seems to have taken a liking to you." Liam wagged his eyebrows, making him impossibly cute in his own way. He wasn't his brother, but I could easily see why someone would be attracted to him.

I glanced back at my best friend, Charlotte and Liam's buddy, Cole. They were laughing over something and lost in their own world.

Liam's voice was closer, pulling me from my thoughts. "You wanna come grab a platter and hold it for me while I pull everything off the grill?"

"Yeah. Absolutely." I gave him a warm smile and followed him into the kitchen. I couldn't help but glance down the hall to see if Ethan was hiding out on the phone or something.

"He's upstairs, I think. The bedroom light was on up there from what I could tell outside." He knelt and pulled a large platter from under the kitchen counter. "Let's get this meat off the grill and then you go check on him."

"Okay." I followed Liam outside as warmth rushed through the center of my chest and took up residence in my tummy. Ethan's attention was all I wanted from the moment I met him, and I'd been fighting myself as hard as I could to deny that fact. Tonight would be a release in more ways than one.

"So you've been acting for a long time, right? I feel like you already answered this on my boat when we met. Tell me again. I’m a dumbass. You’ll get used to it.” Liam smiled and opened the grill, backing up as hot smoke billowed out.

"I've been involved in drama my whole life, but I just got the opportunity to do something with it thanks to Eon opening up the set for outsiders."

"I've been involved in drama my whole life too. Most of it has a name." He worked to get the meat on the platter I held and chuckled softly before continuing. "You know... Sherry, Dana, Liz. Those gals."

I snorted, my wine having loosened up my composure. "Ethan said to watch out for you."

"Me? Fuck that. You gotta watch out for him. With me, you know what you're getting."

"And what's that?" I lifted an eyebrow and put my free hand on my hip.

"Sex and maybe breakfast if you're really good in the sack." He closed the grill and took the platter from me. "That seems like a pretty fair deal."

"It does, but the question is whether you're telling these drama queens up front what exactly is included in the package deal." I followed him back in the house as he chuckled again.

"You might have a point there, though I'd rather we talk about something else. You're making me feel like I'm the creator of this drama in my life."

I patted his back before walking toward the hall. I called over my shoulder, "You said it... not me."

"I like you already. If Ethan fucks up..."

I rolled my eyes at the playfulness in his voice. From what I could tell of Ethan and Liam's relationship, there was no way in hell Liam would step on his brother's toes - no matter what. The notion of Ethan fucking up wasn't too terribly far-fetched though. Whatever relationship we'd concocted so far was nothing less than a hot mess. That wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Tomorrow would come soon enough. I had enough worries to fill today. Sleeping with Ethan was all I wanted, and yet trying to put one foot in front of the other as I walked up the long winding staircase to the second floor, I wasn't sure how coordinated I would be in bed. I could barely keep my balance.

"Ethan?" I yelped and reached for the railing as I missed the last step and almost fell.

"Hey. Be careful, beautiful." Ethan rounded the corner, reaching out and holding me up.

I smiled so wide it hurt. "You keep showing up right in the nick of time."

"It's a gift?" He moved back, pulling me with him before sliding his strong hands down my arms and squeezing softly. "Food ready?"

"Yeah, but I'm not hungry for food." I took the step between us and pressed myself to his strong chest as liquid courage forced me to push us into what we both wanted.

"No?" He brushed his thumb over my cheek and slid his fingers into my hair, cupping my head and gripping me tightly. As if he were in complete control of what was soon to happen.

My breathing got off kilter and I let my eyes flutter closed. "No. I wanna taste you instead."

"It's a lot to handle, Riley. You sure?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

Laughter bubbled up inside of me, and the moment was broken. I opened my eyes and pushed at his chest. "You just have to bring up the size of your cock, don't you?"

"Seems like a good time to do it." He smiled and the world faded. The man had to be the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Why in the world he would want anything to do with me was a complete mystery. And maybe he really didn't want much more than a night, but he was pulling off a great show if that were the case.

"Someone needs to put you in your place." I moved past him, stumbling a little.

"Whoa. Be careful, baby." He moved up behind me and gripped my elbow, steering me toward the only room with a light still on.

"I like to live on the edge." I hiccupped and laughed again. Wine was the bane of my existence. Being poor most of my life meant not drinking anything but beer, which funny enough didn't have the power that wine did to turn me inside out.

I stopped in front of the bed and let out a soft sigh as the door closed behind me.

"How far do you like to be dangled over the edge?" He pressed his chest against my back and leaned down, brushing his lips by my neck.

Chill bumps raced across my skin. "Depends on who's anchoring me to safety."

"A bastard." He slid his hands over my hips and wrapped one arm around me under my breast. His free hand pressed against the front of my sex, tapping me softly. "A really bad guy that just wants to know what it feels like to be loved by you for the night. Tell him no."

"Not in a million years." I lifted my hands to reach back and run my fingers down the back of his head. "I'm not sure I could."

He sucked my earlobe in his mouth and growled softly. "And if you could muster the self-denial to tell me to fuck off, you'd want me to press you, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," I whispered and undulated my hips, wishing like hell I was out of my dress. "Don't take no for an answer with me."

"Is that permission to have you all to myself, Riley? Whenever I want?" He patted me once more before gripping my dress and tugging it up to my waist. His fingers pressed into the top of my panties and I groaned and gripped his hand tightly as I panted.

"What do you want?" I turned my head and lifted my chin until I could see him.

He spread me open and ran his finger along the soft skin I wanted him to worship. Leaning down, he pressed his mouth to mine and cupped my face with his free hand as he pulsed his middle finger against my entrance.

"I wanna hear you come. More than anything else. I wanna feel it. Taste it. Bathe in it. You up for that?"

I pressed my hips forward, fucking myself as he tightened his hold on me.

"Just sex," I mumbled and lifted my foot to rest it against the bed in front of us.

He pressed another finger inside of me and licked at my mouth. "Is that all you want?"

"Tonight? Yes." I rocked against him as pressure built up deep inside my stomach. "I want to feel you on top of me."

"Behind you?" He pulled his hand from my panties and stepped back before jerking me around. "Underneath you?"

The pressure of being whipped around was a little much. I reached up and touched the side of my head as the room spun. Blinking seemed to help a little, but not much. Another odd laugh left me.

"You okay, Riley?" He moved down, bending at the knees and getting in my line of sight. "You've had too much to drink."

"Have I?" I moved a few steps back until my knees hit the bed. Sitting sounded good. Laying sounded better. "I need to just lay down for a... for a..."

"For a minute?" He moved up onto the bed and dropped down beside me on his side. "Take all the time you need."

I turned my face toward him and laughed again. "Are you really here?"

"Oh yeah! I wouldn't be anywhere else." He reached up and brushed the back of his fingers by my face. "I got some bad news tonight."

His words were a little slurred, but I wasn't sure if it was me being drunk, or him having one too many drinks. "You're so fucking hot." I pulled him down and offered him what I could only hope was a sexy kiss.

My first mistake was closing my eyes. It felt too damn good to close them. I mumbled something before letting the darkness move in and take me away from what could have been the best moment of my life.

Typical.